U.S. Opens Niger Drone Base, Building Africa Presence - NYT

The new drone base, located for now in the capital, Niamey, is an indication of the priority Africa has become in American antiterrorism efforts. The United States military has a limited presence in Africa, with only one permanent base, in Djibouti, more than 3,000 miles from Mali, the New York Times (NYT) writes.
 

The troops were largely Air Force logistics specialists, intelligence analysts and security officers, a military source said. President Obama said that the troops are armed for their own self protection and would support the French led operation in Mali. Niger signed an agreement last month with the United States covering  American military involvement in the country and legal protection to American troops there.
 

 Last month President Mahamadou Issoufou expressed concern about the spillover of violence and refugees from Mali, as well as growing threats from Boko Haram in Nigeria. He welcomed the drone base in his country which has a long border with Mali.A  spokesman for the US Africa Command (Africom) based in Stuttgart confirmed to the NYT  that Africom has positioned" unarmed remotely piloted aircraft in Niger to support a range of regional security missions and engagements with partner nations."

Predator drones willbe unarmed for now but Africom doesnot rule out the use of dronesarmed with missiles in the future. The drone base will probably be moved to Agadez andwill play an important role in keeping track of Jihadist movements in Mali and on routes to Libya.
 

 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov has warned of the spread of terrorism in North Africa, which the Russian government has linked to Western intervention in Libya, however Russia has supported the French intervention in Mali, the NYT concludes.